


Her Boys (and children, children are good)

by badgerpride89



Category: The Hobbit (2012), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Dwobbits, Everyone lives, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff, Gen, Multi, cavity inducing fluff, minor angst later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-03
Updated: 2013-03-02
Packaged: 2017-12-04 03:18:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/705915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badgerpride89/pseuds/badgerpride89
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bilbo has always wanted a large brood to call her own but not the husband which came with such things. Her boys have always wanted children of their own but accepted the unlikeliness of that dream. After learning that hobbits and dwarves can reproduce together, they decide to help each other achieve their dreams.</p>
<p>Or that time when Bilbo accidentally became pregnant, her boys became overbearing mother hens, and they all gained an unexpected family.</p>
<p>From the hobbit-kink prompt: http://hobbit-kink.livejournal.com/3651.html?thread=7503939#t7503939</p>
<p>Always-a-girl-Bilbo, surrogacy (nothing new yet, grad school sucks)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Her Boys (and children, children are good)

It started purely by accident. In the celebrations after the Battle and the news their royal companions would live, she and Bofur took to bed together. They both laughed it off the next day, Bofur was a dear friend- one of her boys- and both of them preferred to keep it that way. Then two weeks later, Bilbo realized she was pregnant. Only to be expected, she thought as she sat in her chambers near the royal wing. She'd run out of her herbs months ago (there was a reason all hobbits kept a garden- those who wanted fewer than ten children needed those herbs constantly). Well. She was a gentlehobbit no matter that she was surrounded by dwarfs and so sought Bofur the next day to decide what to do.  
  
"I'm pregnant," she began simply and stifled a giggle as his eyes widened and his mouth hung open.  
  
"Wh-wh- after one time?" he stammered.  
  
"It's not uncommon," she explained patiently. "Takes a few more if the fellow's on his own herbs and the lady isn't. As neither of us were-"  
  
Bofur picked her up and spun her around then hugged her close. "A child," he said reverently as his eyes watered. "I never thought..."  
  
Now he'd piqued her interest. "Thought what?"  
  
"Dwarf women are rare, lass," he whispered. "Fewer still are fertile. Most of us, no matter how we want them, never have children. This...this is incredible."  
  
She chuckled. "So I take it you'll be a father to this one?"  
  
Bofur looked at her like she'd suggested Erebor was a hill. "Bilbo, if ye don't want to be a mother, I'd care for the child all by myself. Bifur and Bombur would be the best uncles a child could ask for. And that's not counting the rest of Erebor. If this child's born, it'll never want for love and attention, I promise you that."  
  
"And us?" she asked softly.  
  
Bofur chuckled. "As far as I'm concerned, you're my brother in arms, part of our little Company, and friend. That doesn't have to change unless we both want it."  
  
"Well, now that that's settled," she said, trying to hold her own swirling emotions in check. "I have two requests."  
  
"Anything."  
  
"One, I'm craving apples. I feel I'd eat them forever if I could. And two. Could you loosen your hold just a bit? You are a bit stronger than I," she ended with a laugh.  
  
Bofur smiled and released her, his eyes fully fixated on her stomach. Then he shook his head and said, "Apples, right. I'll find you some. You just...do whatever it is pregnant hobbits do. I'll, I'll be back soon," he said as he nearly ran into one of the workers fresh from the Ironhills.  
  
Bilbo shook her head and headed into the war chamber where the council gathered. She had a lot to do helping the Dale fields before she went into labor. At least her child would be born near summer's end. That was always a good omen.  
  
When her boys heard the news, Bilbo knew the rest of Erebor would know by week's end, they about lost their heads. What little good sense they had fled in light of this babe and she could only resign herself to five more months of dwarfs waiting hand and foot on her, marveling at such an occurrence, or asking to feel her stomach. Honestly, the babe wouldn't awaken for another month but she couldn't deny their hopeful faces or, in Kili and Ori's case, their pleading eyes. The Company stuck to her like glue, which quickly ran on her nerves until she finally snapped, "Hobbit women have been giving birth for thousands of years without dwarfs following them everywhere. So give me some space, for the love of the Shire."  
  
Most had backed off a bit, Balin, Oin, Gloin, and Dori took charge of keeping the others occupied whenever they saw her patience thin. Only Bofur she allowed whenever he wanted, he was the child's father and while he was in such awe, he knew her boundaries backwards and forwards. The breaking point, of course, came from Thorin.

"Excuse me? What right have you to forbid me in the fields?" she demanded, hands on her hips and face in a threatening scowl.  
  
Thorin looked equally obstinate. More fool him. "I'll not have you lose the child because you want to plow fields and pull weeds. There are others-"  
  
"Now see here, Thorin Oakenshield," she scolded. "Hobbit women work their fields and ply their trades until the day the child comes. And we go right back at it a week later with the babe slung on our backs. So do not tell me what I can and cannot do."  
  
"No other hobbit woman has been pregnant with a dwarf child-"  
  
"Oh, spare me the stubbornness of dwarfs. You lot aren't that much taller than me. Bigger, I'll grant you but you've never seen a hobbit babe fresh from birth. I'm certain the size difference isn't that far off."  
  
"Be that as it may-"  
  
"Be that as it may, you are not the child's father. Until then, you can keep your shoulds and should nots to yourself," she seethed as she grabbed her pitchfork and bag of notes and recipes for good fertilizers. As she headed out, she called, "And don't you dare order Bofur to plead your case. You haven't begun to see the wrath of a hobbit mother."

* * *

The weeks flew by and with them grew Bilbo's stomach. She sadly discarded her fine trousers and waistcoats but the beautiful full skirts, embroidered with various flowers from the Shire (and no, she was not homesick, it was the babe messing with her, that was all), and loose shirts with low necklines made up for it. Bofur truly knew her tastes and Dori was as skilled as ever. Perfect for plowing the fields or spending the day at home where she and the others talked and smoked like the old days, laughing and singing songs well into the night. Their anticipation only grew, Bilbo caught Ori knitting jumpers, mittens, and socks at various sizes- "c-cause we don't know how big it'll be so I'm just trying to be prepared". She quickly let him off the hook and told him they were perfect. Oin kept dosing her tea with herbs and spices he insisted dwarf babes needed to grow strong in the womb and Bilbo let him. It couldn't hurt and while they eased her back and birthing muscles, she didn't detect much difference. Between Gloin, Bombur, Dwalin, and Thorin, special chambers had been carved into the mountain, one with three bedrooms so she and Bofur could stay close to the child without intruding too terribly on each other's space. And Bifur...  
  
"It's the seven brothers," Bofur explained as she turned one of the seven stone carvings end over end. The fronts showed dwarf men of various sizes and shapes sitting on a throne while the back...was a little more disturbing. Faces and shapes which looked like they were trying to escape the men at the front peered at her horridly.  
  
"See, the seven dwarf brothers needed wives so they were carved from stone. Durin, that's this one here, he found his later than the others; that's why it's bare. It's a gift wishing for the prosperity the brothers eventually brought to the world," Bofur finished as Bifur looked at her expectantly.  
  
She smiled reassuringly and gripped his forearm in thanks. He returned it then nodded at his cousin before departing. Bilbo figured she could place the statues over the mantle, the wives facing the wall.  
  
Month five saw her trotting down to the fields with a shadow. She rolled her eyes but determinedly kept up her work and ignored him until the lunch break. She brushed the sweat out of her growing curls as Nori handed handed her a pack of food, enough to sustain her the rest of the day and perfect for snacking.  
  
"His royal gruffness send you out to monitor me?" she jested and Nori raised his hands.  
  
"Caught me, love," he said. "But between me or the princes, I think we know which you'd choose."  
  
She slapped his arm. "Them I could get to work. You, on the other hand, sit here languishing in the shade."  
  
"I'm guarding," Nori enunciated slowly, a sly smile on his face. "It's my job."

She shook her head. "Sure," she said and sat on the picnic blanket beside him. They ate in peace for a moment, Bilbo devouring everything in sight as the babe had quite the appetite. Might be some dwarf in them but that is all hobbit, she thought proudly.  
  
"Say, Bilbo," Nori started, his voice far more serious than usual, and was it her imagination or was he looking a bit sheepish? "Um, we've been friends for a long time now and we both know what the other's capable of and, well.."  
  
"Well, what?" she prompted.  
  
"I just don't want you take this wrong way, is all. What I was wondering is if, after this one is good and settled, maybe I could father a child with you?" he said slowly then stammered, "I mean, only if you want to, obviously. But with my past and such, no matter how heroic people think I am now I'm never gonna escape that and win a lass's heart. But I..."  
  
"Want a family?" she asked lowly and placed her hand atop his.  
  
Nori shook his head and smiled. "Nah, already got that between Dori, Ori, and the rest of you. I just...want a child of my own. Too few dwarflings to begin with and even fewer to take in. Would if I could, mind. Mum never really recovered from Erebor and left Dori and me alone for really long stretches. I know what it's like growing up without parents."  
  
Bilbo took a deep breath and thought about it. She'd never wanted marriage, neither a husband nor a wife, she was quite content to be on her own in that regard. Children, on the other hand, if Gandalf hadn't come when he did, she'd probably be scouring the Shire for little foundlings. As with dwarfs there were few but there the similarities ended. There were few foundlings because almost all of them had some family somewhere who wanted to take them in and raise them as their own. She'd never expected a child of her own and now had the chance at two? It was mind-boggling and so she decided to leave it for later. "I'm not promising anything," she said finally. "But I'm not saying no either."  
  
Nori nodded. "I thank you for your consideration, my fellow burglar," he replied cheekily. "Hopefully I can meet your high standards for sires."  
  
Bilbo shook her head fondly. "You already do," she said and wiped her mouth with her handkerchief. "But helping with the fields certainly wouldn't hurt your chances."  
  
Nori laughed in defeat but his eyes lit in hope.

* * *

The birth date came about a week later than she expected. Given dwarf pregnancies, it was early but that was semantics. The entire Company sat in the birthing room with her, most of them in a ring on the far side of the room. Surprisingly, Dwalin was the most squeamish of the lot and refused to help her walk the room to encourage the babe to enter the world. Through the pain, she heard Fili and Kili giving him a hard time about it, Ori placing a last minute bet on the babe's sex, and felt Bofur steadying hand in hers the whole way through.  
  
"Shut it, the lot of ya, or get out," Oin shouted then grumbled about 'not proper' and settled himself in for his work. Bilbo managed a chuckle before it turned into a pained groan.   
  
Bofur quietly sung the songs of the Shire she'd taught them in her ear as he wound a free finger into one of her curls. Several pushes and agonizing moments later, the squealing infant made its presence known, safe and mewling in Oin's large hands. He held the babe to her and Bofur first and Bofur wept at the sight before Oin showed her off. Ori whooped in the background but those who'd bet on a boy were no less pleased. Bofur kissed her curls and whispered, "thank you, thank you, thank you," until it became a mantra beside her. Oin clamped the chord and handed the little girl to Gloin for a quick wash and swaddling. He presented her to Bofur wrapped in the yellow blankets of the Broadbeams and he handled her as though she was the most precious thing in the entire world.  
  
"Got your points, lass," Bofur said quietly as he brought their daughter to her. Indeed, beneath a full head of Bofur's brown hair her ears were pointed but her little nose already had a dwarfish shape to it. Bilbo softly stroked the girl's cheek and gently touched her nose as she remembered her own mother doing. She then looked at the rest of the Company and wearily said, "Well, come on. Come meet your niece, Bolinda."  
  
"You scare her and you're banned from the nursery 'til she's learning her numbers," Bofur threatened and Bilbo whacked him on the arm.  
  
The Company approached slowly, one after another at Oin's instance. Fili and Kili continuously tried to cut the line or void it altogether but their uncle finally shoved them in the back and threatened them with extra desk duty if they didn't stay put. Each of them congratulated Bofur and Bilbo and the more courageous stroked Bolinda's soft hair. All swore to protect her. Bilbo's eyes watered at her boys' display until the tears well and truly fell. Bofur finally put their daughter to rest in the cradle Bombur and Bifur had made and one by one, they all joined the little girl in sleep.  
  
True to her word, a week later, Bilbo went back to work with Bolinda on her back in a special harness Dwalin made. The leather was a bit wearing and a bit too big but the sling was lined with thick rabbit fur and hearing her daughter's sounds and heartbeat behind her made the effort worth it in Bilbo's estimation. Every day, Bofur finished his duties in the mines and traveled to the fields where he relieved Bilbo of her prize. He sat with the little girl under a nearby tree, autumn leaves scattering about them. After two days, Bilbo stopped glancing back at them every two minutes. Not because they weren't adorable, the way Bofur held Bolinda and pointed out little leaves and chatted to her, but because she trusted him that much with their child.  
  
The Company ate together every night from then on. Bofur and Bilbo never cooked and while they relaxed a bit, the others practically fought over who would get to hold or feed their newest addition. It got so rowdy one night Bilbo almost banned any sort of loud noises right then and there but Bofur's charm, Gloin's experience, and Thorin's glare of doom everyone managed to stay under control from then on.  
  
A month later, she approached Nori and said, "Yes."  
  
Five months after Bolinda's birth, Nori's child grew within her.

* * *

"Are you kidding me?" Dwalin asked, mouth agape. They were all gathered round the large fireplace in Bofur and Bilbo's chambers, little Bolinda bouncing happily on her father's lap as he nuzzled and played with her. Her hair remained Bofur's shade of dark brown, kept in two ponytails, but her eyes had eventually turned a clear blue that marked all blue-eyed hobbits.   
  
Nori crossed his arms at the Company's surprise while Bilbo counted backwards from twenty to keep from snapping. Seemed this one did a number on her temper.  
  
"You should've told us you were courting, right, Fili?" Kili said. "We've brought presents and everything."  
  
"We aren't courting," Nori said shortly.  
  
"Valar, no. Nori's like a trouble-making cousin- the good kind, Nori- not a lover or a husband, thank you very much," Bilbo finished.  
  
"Then- how, why...did you do something, brother?" Dori asked, his eyebrows narrowing and hands going to his hips.  
  
"He asked," Bilbo seethed. "He asked if I'd consider having a child with him. I considered it and said yes. What on earth is difficult about that?"  
  
Eyes turned back to Nori who stared straight ahead and kept his face blank. "Is it so wrong to want that?" he asked, his voice lowering to a whisper as he pointedly looked at Bofur tickling Bolinda. "I love Lin but but I'd like to be a father too, not only an uncle."  
  
"And for the record, typical hobbit families have at least five children. I might not want a husband, I love you all, no, not like that, but I do want children. It's as simple as that," Bilbo stated, wondering where the stammering, tiny hobbit who couldn't get a dwarf to listen to her if her life depended on it went. Well, in moments like these, she quite liked her current state of affairs.  
  
"Lass," Balin said kindly. "You do know what they'll say..."  
  
Bilbo humphed. She grew up in the Shire where gossip was an art, not a pastime. "Then tell them that they couldn't get a hobbit lass pregnant no matter how many times they bedded her."  
  
The lads laughed and even Thorin smiled at that.  
  
"Bofur, you're all right with this, correct?" Gloin asked carefully.  
  
The miner smiled. "Of course. Lin here gets a little sibling, Bilbo's one step closer to the large hobbit family she wants, what's to not be okay with?"  
  
"Any more questions or can I go to bed now? The winter harvests start tomorrow and I'd like not to be late," Bilbo asked, glancing around the room. She kissed Bolinda good night and ruffled her hair when a voice spoke up.  
  
"Might we come some arrangement?" Balin asked as his voice rang through the room. Bilbo was certain she could hear a pin drop two floors up.

"An arrangement?" she repeated and Balin nodded.  
  
"I myself do not have an heir," he said as his shoulders slumped in sadness. "I lost my wife and son to Smaug. I could...never love like that again, make that kind of commitment to another woman. She was my one and only. But a child, with you...aye, I could do that. I would like someone to carry on my legacy if I could. So, might we?"  
  
Bilbo smiled kindly. "My only request is that you help raise the child and remain right here with the rest of the Company. Don't think we haven't seen you eyeing other kingdoms to explore," she finished with an amused wag of her finger.  
  
Balin nodded. "Aye, I can manage that. It'll be a proper courting, as befitting one of your status, Madam Baggins. Of that, you may be sure."  
  
Bilbo's mouth dropped. "Oh, um, n-no courting needed, it's fine," she stammered, looking from dwarf to dwarf seeking help.  
  
Balin shook his head. "With such gifts as you're providing, anything less would be a grave dishonor," he said solemnly.  
  
"We're friends, comrades-in-arms, really, you don't-"  
  
"Bilbo," Thorin quietly interjected from his seat near the fire. "You will have given birth to two children in just over a year and plan for a third within the next. Before you and your children, Fili and Kili were the closest siblings in age ever born to our people. Do you understand why we must thank you for this honor?"  
  
Bilbo blinked. She'd known the dwarven population problem was severe but five years between siblings was the lowest? And just two of them? How did they survive? Dwarfs took as much pride in their families as hobbits. She almost pitied them for hard it was to celebrate their families.  
  
She sighed defeatedly. "Fine," she said then stood straight. "I accept your offer, Master Balin. But I ask that you wait until this little one's out in the open before you start doing whatever it is dwarfs do to court."  
  
"I can agree to that," Balin said as he stood and shook her hand. For her ear only, he whispered, "Thank you, Bilbo. I'll never be more grateful than the day you chased after us."  
  
Bilbo nodded as a lump rose in her throat. "So," she said, chuckling and clearing her throat as she attempted to lighten the atmosphere. "Anyone else?"  
  
Bofur laughed outright at the blank expressions on the other dwarfs' faces while Bilbo merely tilted her head wearily.  
  
Oin seemed to recover first. "Ya can't just go...offering children like festival trinkets. That, that's just..."  
  
"Improper? This whole situation is already improper. Look, I'm not just tossing every member of the Company a babe like so many flowers and leaving it at that. I want to raise a family, a large one, and I can think of no better men to share it with. Those who are already my family," she said with finality and a glance towards Nori. He smiled back at her.  
  
Bifur stepped forward from where he leaned on the wall and nodded. Dwalin followed suit, as did Ori (rather timidly). Fili and Kili attempted to join them but Thorin restrained them.  
  
"Aw, come on, Uncle," Kili whined. "We want little dwobbit babes too!"  
  
"We have responsibilities to see to before any of us can consider it," he stated. "Such as the line of succession."  
  
Kili crossed his arms and pouted. "Fine," he grumbled.  
  
Bofur laughed again. "You're really helping your case, lad, acting like a babe yourself."  
  
"Well, I, for one, have already raised two dwarfs, and two dwarfs are quite enough," Dori said vehemently. Then he chuckled and it almost sounded sinister. "Now, being a doting uncle and grandfather, that I can do."  
  
"Aye, a bit old to be having children," Oin said as he pointed to his ear trumpet and chuckled. "Don't mind grandfathering them though." Oh, Valar, her children were going to be spoiled rotten. She'd have to work extra hard to keep near their earthy roots, not just their stone.  
  
Bilbo nodded with finality and said, "Now that that's settled, I'm really going to bed. First chance we get, we're all going to have a long talk."  
  
"Talk?" Fili asked and Bilbo rolled her eyes.  
  
"Oh, you have no idea," she replied mysteriously as she headed to her room.  
  
From behind her, she heard Bofur say, "Hear that, lass? Little brothers and sisters for you. Guess we're gonna have to start making more room."  
  
More room indeed.


End file.
